Cloth-holding device for buttonhole attachments



April l0, 1951 H. H. RUSSELL 2,547,977

CLOTH-HOLDING DEVICE FOR BUTToNHoLE ATTACHMENTS Filed Nov. 2s, 1949 Patented pr. 1.0, 17951 CLTH-HLDING DEVICE FOR BUTTON- HOLE ATTACHMENTS Herbert H. Russell, New Haven, Conn., assigner to lIhe Greist. Manufacturing Company, New Haven, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut V*Application November 23, 1949, Serial No. 129,059

This invention relates to sewing-machine attachments and more particularly to a cloth-holding device for certain of such attachments, or a means to prevent the cloth being pulled upwardly by the needle when it is withdrawn from the cloth, or other material being sewed, upon the upward movement of the needle bar. f As illustrated, the invention is applied to a buttonhole attachment designed to be attached to the usual household sewing machine after removal of the usual presser foot, the attachment being secured to the usual presser bar. In the use of certain of these attachments, such for example as a device for stitching button holes, where the feeding foot must be provided with a relatively large slot through which the needle operates, difculty is sometimes encountered in that the cloth which is being sewed will tend to blouse or be drawn upwardly with the upward movement of the needle. This is due to the fact that the edges of the slot in the feeding foot do no1-l lie closely adjacent the needle and, therefore, cannot hold the cloth downwardly upon the machine bed at points close to the needle.

It is contemplated by the present invention to provide a movable cloth-holding member lwhich will be carried by the attachment and which is provided with a holding foot, or end portion, which will lie relatively close to the needle. This member is actuated or moved by the fork arm, 5

or some other movable part of the attachment, so that before the fork arm descends to drive the needle through the material being sewed, the forward or operating end of the holding member will be moved downwardly against the cloth or material and will remain in this position during the initial portion of the upward movement of the needle. Thus, the holding member will prevent the lifting of the cloth by the needle until the latter is loosened from the material, at which time, the holding member will be raised from the cloth to permit release of the latter for the feeding operation. l

In other words, while the cloth is held down against the bed when the needle begins its upward stroke so that it will be loosened from the cloth and not draw the latter upwardly with it, the cloth will be released after the needle is drawn therefrom so that it will not be gripped or held during the feeding movements of the cloth and, therefore, will not interfere with these feeding movements. In the present instance the holddown device is actuated from the main cam wheel which is in turn actuated by the fork arm so that it is synchronized in its movement with-that of Claims. v(Cl. 1HE-77) the plate by the pivot pin i3, which pin is slidable the needle bar and with the feed mechanism so as not to interfere with the normal sewing operations.

One object of the present invention is to provide a cloth-holding device for a sewing-machine attachment such as a buttonhole attachment.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cloth-holding device 'for a buttonhole or similar sewing-machine attachment which will'engage the cloth being sewed and hold the same against blousing as the needle is drawn therefrom, but at the same time will release the cloth so as not to interfere with the proper feeding of the latter. 1

Still another object of the invention is to provide a buttonhole or similar sewing-machine attachment with a cloth-holding device comprising a lever pivoted adjacent the front end of the attachment on a horizontal axis, and means for actuating the cloth-holding device from the main cam wheel of the attachment.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a cloth-holding device, as described above, which cloth-holding device is pivoted on the adapter by which the attachment is secured to the presser bar of the sewing machine, and to provide an actuating lever also pivoted to the adapter, one arm of which actuating lever engages and moves the cloth-holding lever and the other arm of which actuating lever is engaged and actuated by the main cam wheel. f

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of the buttonhole attachment having my cloth-holding device applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational View of the forward portion of the attachment showing the parts `in a position different from that shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view similar to Fig. 4, but showing the parts in still another position.

As illustrated in the drawings, the buttonhole attachment comprises a frame I@ having a base plate ll upon the under side of which is mounted a feed blade l2. The feed blade is pivoted to in the slot i4 in the plate l l so as to adjust the position of the pivot pin and thereby adjust the lateral throw of the forward portion of the feed blade. The pivot pin I3 may be adjusted in the slot I4 by means of the adjusting arm l5 attached to the pivot pin at its forward end and provided adjacent its rear end with a plurality of teeth I6 designed to be engaged with the flanged edge Il of a housing member I8 mounted upon the frame.

Secured to the feed blade i2 is an endless rack member 20, the teeth of which are engaged by those of a pinion 2l mounted upon a shaft 22, which shaft is rotatably mounted in a housing 23 carried by an actuating lever 24 pivoted at 25 upon the frame plate I I.

The rack member 28 may be held in place by a cover plate 25 pivoted to the frame at 2 and pivoted with a flat Spring member 28 -whichengages the lower side of the rack member 23.

The lever 24 oscillates in a substantially horizontal plane about the pivot pin 25 and at the forward end of this lever is provided a pin or roller 30 which acts as a cam follower and is disposed in the cam track 3i of a cam wheel 32, this cam wheel being secured to a shaft 33 rotatably mounted in spaced upstanding frame members 34 which may be formed integrally with a plate- 35 riveted or otherwise secured to the base plate I'l. Alsosecured tothe members 34 is an adapter 36 by which the device may be secured to the presser bar of asewing machine after the presser foot has been removed.

It will be obvious from the above arrangement that when the cam wheel 32 is rotated, the lever 24 will bev oscillated as-will also the pinion 2i carried thereby, and the engagement of this pinion with theteeth of the rack 26 will effect oscillation of thefeed blade andthereby effect lateral movements of the work due to the fact that a feeding foott'l is carried at the forward end of the feed blade I2. As shown in,Fig.2, this feeding foot is provided with a relatively large oblong openingi through. which the needle is designed to operate and this foot may be roughenecl as shown at 35 on its lower face so as to properly engage and move the material which is, being sewed. Secured to the shaft 33 is a ratchet wheel 46. the teeth o f which are engaged by a pawl 4l pivoted at 42 to a fork arm 43 loosely mounted upon the shaft 33, this pawl being urged into engagement with the ratchet vwheel by the spring 44. The fork arm 43 is provided with a bifurcated` end 45 designed to be engagedwith the needle bar of the sewing machine so that the arm 53 will be reciprocated upon reciprocation of the needle bar. This will `effect step-by-step rotation of the ratchet wheel 43, and, therefore, of the shaft 33, and of the cam wheel132 secured to this shaft. has already been described, rotation of the cam wheel will effect lateral oscillation of the lever 24 and lateral feeding movements ofthe work.

Secured to the shaft 22 is a ratchet wheel 41, the teeth of which are; adapted to intermittently engage a resilient pawl 48 fixed to the frame upon oscillation of the lever Z4. The engagement of the teeth of theratchet 41 by the pawl 48 during lateral movements of the lever 24 will effect stepby-step rotation of the shaft 22 and, therefore, of

the pinion 2l carried thereby. This step-by-step rotation of the pinion 2l, by its engagement with the teeth of the rack 25, causes longitudinal movements of the feed blade I2 to which the rack is secured, so as to effect longitudinal movements of the cloth for propel' oblong stitching around the buttonhole.

The operation of the parts above described is substantially like that of the device shown in the Almquist Patent No. 2,482,607, granted September 20, 1949, so that no further description thereof is believed to be necessary. It will be apparent, however, that upon oscillation of the fork arm 43 by the needle bar of the sewing machine the mechanism will cause the material engaged by the feeding foot 31 to be moved laterally and at the same time feed longitudinally so that it will travel in a generally oblong path and effect a line of zig-zag stitches at each side of the buttonhole.

As illustrated, a hold-down lever 5l is pivoted at 52 upon the side cf the adapter 35, this hold-down lever being provided with a forwardly and inwardly extending portion which terminates in a downwardly-extending cloth-engaging foot 53, this foot projecting into the elongated slot 38 of the feeding foot, as shown particularly in Fig. 2. The rear end or tail portion 54 of the lever 5| extends rearwardly from the pivot and is provided at its upper edge with a double cam surface and 56, one of these surfaces lying upon each side ofthe high point 5'1.Y

An actuating leveris pivoted at 58 to the upper surface of the adapter, this lever. being of bell-crank form and being provided with a laterally and outwardly-extending arm 59 which is adapted to engage the camsv55 and 53 of the lever 5I and actuateV the latter in one direction, i. e., a direction which effects a raising movement of the cloth-holding foot 53 to raise the foot from the cloth being sewed. The other arm 63 of the actuating lever extends-rearwardly into the cam track of the cam wheel 32 and upon its end is provided with a follower so that thisl lever is cscillated upon its pivot 58 at each movement of the main cam wheel.

A coil spring 6I is secured at one end to the outer portion of the arm 59 of the actuatingv lever and is secured at its other end to the tail portion 54 of the cloth-holding lever 5|, soas .to urge the rear end of this lever upwardly and the holding foot 53 downwardly against the cloth. This spring, as will be obvious, maintains the cam surface 55 and 55 against the lower surface of the end portion of the arm 59 which engages these surfaces.

It will be apparent that when the fork arm 43 is actuated by the needle baryit will, through' the ratchet wheel 40, eect step-by-step rotation of the earn wheel 32. The movement of the latter will take place onlyA upon upward movement of the fork arm and the cam wheel will be station-A ary during the downwardA or sewing movements. During one upward strokefof of the needle bar. the needle bar the arm 59 of thel actuating lever will be moved from the position shown in Fig. 4 where it lies forwardly of the high point 57 between the cam surfaces 55 and 56 to the position shown in Fig. 5 in which it lies rearwardly of the point 51. Upon the next succeeding upward stroke of the fork arm, which imparts the next succeeding movement to the cam wheel, the arm 59 of the actuating lever will be moved from the position shown in Fig. 5 to the original position shown in Fig. 4.

The cam surfaces 55 and 56 are substantially alike in shape but are inclined in opposite directions so that uponl each upward stroke ofthe needle bar, the arm 59 will ride up one of the cam surfaces over the high point 5l and down the other cam surface. Thus, the movement of the actuating lever will first cause the holding foot 53 to be raised from the cloth and then permit it to again descend into engagement with the cloth under the force of the spring 6I. During downward movements of the needle barthe cloth-holding lever and, of course, the clothholding foot 53 will remain stationary as there is no movement of the cam wheel during downward movement of the fork arm.

In Fig. 4, the fork arm is shown in substantially its uppermost position in full lines, and in substantially its lowermost position in dotted lines. It will be seen that the holding foot 53 is in engagement with the cloth and will remain in engagement with the cloth while the fork arm is moved to its lower position, shown in dotted lines. As the fork arm moves upwardly Vfrom its dottedline position shown in this gure, the holding foot 53 will remain in engagement with the cloth a sufficient length of time to permit the needle to be drawn therefrom, :but will then be moved uD- wardly as the arm 59 of the actuating lever moves along the cam surface 55 of the hold-down lever, so as to free the cloth for a feeding movement. When the fork arm reaches an intermediate position shown in Fig. 1, the arm 59 will ride substantially over the high point l, at which time the holding foot will be in its uppermost position. Upon continued movement of the fork arm, the parts will occupy the position shown in Fig. 5 wherein the arm 59 will ride down the cam surface 56 and again permit the spring 6l to draw the holding foot downwardly against the cloth. Upon the next succeeding upward stroke of the fork arm, the arm 59 will -be caused to move in the opposite direction to the position shown in Fig. 4.

It will be apparent that the cloth, while being held down during the sewing stroke of the needle, will be released upon the upward movement of the fork arm so that the cloth will be released for the feeding operation which takes place upon the movement of the cam wheel during the upward stroke of the fork arm.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of' the invention and within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

l. In a sewing-machine attachment a frame, a cam wheel rotatably mounted thereon, a fork arm pivoted on the frame and connected to the cam wheel to effect step-by-step rotation thereof upon oscillation of the fork arm, a hold-down lever pivotally carried by the frame and having a downwardly-extending cloth-engaging foo-t, and means actuated by the cam wheel and engaging said lever to move the latter.

2. In a sewing-machine attachment a frame, a cam wheel rotatably mounted thereon, a fork arm pivoted on the frame and connected to the cam wheel to effect step-by-step rotation thereof upon oscillation of the fork arm, a hold-down lever pivotally carried by the frame and having a downwardly-extending cloth-engaging foot, and means for moving said lever to raise said foot from the cloth, said means being actuated by the cam wheel.

3. In a sewing-machine attachment a frame, a cam wheel rotatably mounted thereon, a fork arm pivoted on the frame and connected to the cam wheel to effect step-by-step rotation thereof upon oscillation of the fork arm, a hold-down lever pivotally carried by the frame and having a downwardly-extending cloth-engaging foot, means for moving said lever to raise said foot from the cloth, said means comprising an actuating lever pivoted between its ends and said lever having one arm engaged with the cam wheel and another arm engaging the hold-down lever.

4. In a sewing-machine attachment a' frame, a cam wheel rotatably mounted thereon, -a fork arm pivoted on the frame and connected to the cam wheel to effect step-by-step rotation thereof upon oscillation of the fork arm, a hold-down lever pivotally carried by the frame andlhaving a downwardly-extending cloth-engaging foot, means for moving said lever to raise said foot from the cloth, said means being actuated by the cam wheel, said means comprising an actuating lever pivoted between its ends, said lever having one arm engaged with the cam wheel and another arm engaging the hold-down lever, and a spring urging said hold-down lever into engagement with the actuating lever.

5. In a sewing-machine attachment a frame, a cam wheel rotatably mounted thereon, a fork arm pivoted on the frame and connected to the cam wheel to effect step-by-step rotation thereof upon oscillation of the fork arm, a hold-down lever pivotally carried by the frame and having a downwardly-extending cloth-engaging foot, means for moving said lever to raise said foot from the cloth, said means being actuated by the cam Wheel, and a spring urging said foot toward cloth-engaging position.

6. In a sewing-machine attachment a frame, a cam wheel rotatably mounted thereon, a fork arm pivoted on the frame and connected to the cam wheel to effect step-by-step rotation thereof upon oscillation of the fork arm, an adapter for connection with the presser bar of the machine, a hold-down lever pivoted to the adapter on a horizontal axis, and an actuating lever pivoted to the adapted on a vertical axis, said last-named lever having a part engaging said cam wheel and another part engaging said hold-down lever to actuate the latter from the cam wheel.

7. In a sewing-machine attachment a frame, a cam wheel rotatably mounted thereon, a fork arm pivoted on the frame and connected to the cam wheel to eect step-by-step rotation thereof upon oscillation of the fork arm, an adapter for connection with the presser bar of the machine, a hold-down lever pivoted to the adapter on a horizontal axis, an actuating lever pivoted to the adapter on a vertical axis, said last-named lever having a part engaging said cam wheel and another part engaging said hold-down lever to actuate the latter from the cam wheel, and a spring connected at one end to said actuating lever and at the other end to said hold-down lever to urge the latter into engagement with the former.

8. In a sewing-machine attachment a frame, a cam wheel rotatably mounted thereon, a fork arm pivoted on the frame and connected to the cam wheel to effect step-by-step rotation thereof upon oscillation of the fork arm, an adapter for connection with the presser bar of the machine, a hold-down lever pivoted to the adapter on a horizontal axis, and an actuating lever pivoted to the adapter on a vertical axis, said last-named lever having a part engaging said cam wheel and another part engaging said hold-down lever to actuate the latter from the cam wheel, said holddown lever having oppositely inclined cam surfaces engaged by the part of the actuating lever.

9. In a sewing-machine attachment a frame, a cam wheel rotatably mounted thereon, a fork arm pivoted on the frame and connected to the cam wheel to effect step-by-step rotation thereof upon oscillation of the fork arm, a hold-down lever pivotally carried by the frame and having lever -pivotally carried by the frame .and having a dovvnvvardly-extendingl cloth-engaging foot, said lhold-down lever being provided with a pair of oppositely inclined cam surfaces, a member mcvably mounted on the frame and adapted to engage said surfaces successively upon movement in one direction, and means connecting said member with the cam wheel for actuation thereby in opposite directions.

HERBERT H. RUSSELL,

No references cited. 

